As you near the end of your pregnancy, you’ll likely have people fussing around you and telling you to relax and enjoy this last part. But it’s at this moment that many women (and their partners) get a strong desire to clean the house from top to bottom, paint the skirting boards and finally organise that messy junk drawer!

This response is a perfectly natural desire known as nesting. Some researchers have even found that pregnant women become more selective about the company they keep at this time as nesting is a need to ‘protect and prepare’.

Nesting and cleaning

While most domestic tasks are safe to do in pregnancy, you still need to look after yourself so avoid moving heavy furniture, climbing up to the attic, or anything else too strenuous.

While most domestic tasks are safe to do in pregnancy, keep an eye on your choice of cleaning products, some can be quite toxic and you won’t want to breath them in or get them on your skin.

Avoid painting rooms with oil based paints as they are full of strong chemicals.

Less strenuous nesting

Make sure you have all of the essential numbers for the hospital, the maternity unit and your GP stored in your phone as well as anyone else you may wish to call.

Re-familiarise yourself with your birth plan and see if anything is missing or needs changing and check that your birthing partner has a copy.

There are a million and one products out there for pregnancy, birth and new babies and many mums say they bought everything and never used half of it. Make sure you’ve bought the essentials but don’t get too ahead of yourselves. If you have friends or family who have recently had children, ask for their advice. If not, there are lots of mummy forums and local pregnancy groups where you can make friends and ask for advice.

This is also a good time to check out your local services. You’ve likely been thinking mainly about the pregnancy and the birth and what comes next is often a bit of a shock. If, for example, you want to breastfeed, now is a good time to locate and visit your local breastfeeding groups. It’s easier to find help before you need it.